Day: April 26, 2018

In recent years, the development of blockchain has continuously grown vigorously around the world. Blockchain technology catalyzed a tremendous growth in related industries in 2017. The popularity of this kind of disruptive technology is the prospective tendency of Fintech, typically marked by blockchain in China. Senior game and computer technology practitioners were scenting a shift in industry. That being blockchain game would be counting on blockchain’s potential to change the industry for the better.

Eric Sun was one of the prescient persons. He and three other colleagues of mutual interests founded BIT.GAME. BIT.GAME builds the first global blochchain game exchange while also producing a complete set of blockchain game solutions with the help of its blockchain technology and provide a blockchain game incubation platform.

At the Global Blockchain Summit on April 3rd, BIT.GAME has been gradually acknowledged in blockchain and game circle by extensive propaganda. Eric Sun, the founder and CEO of BIT.GAME, promoted the establishment of GBGU (as Global Blockchain Game Union) and gave given a moving speech. His specialized knowledge and original expectation coalesced admirably in his talking about the future of blockchain game.

Like a vintage wine deep in the ally, with some advertising slightly it will soon be known to all. After the forum, numerous game, blockchain, media, investment, etc. companies were hoping to cooperate with BIT.GAME on exchange, provide technical support and assist with the uninterrupted development.

There were more business partners than BIT.GAME could attend to single-handed. So far, BIT.GAME has already achieved a lot of strategic partnership with some famous public blockchain companies, overseas media and game enterprises. It is estimated that the scale and value of BIT.GAME will hold unprecedented space in the video game industry.  

It is worth mentioning that BIT.GAME’s telegram growth spurt was done so without any operational methods. Only by making some announcements about its ICO and reward programs through Facebook and Twitter, attention gather relatively and fast, much faster than what was expected. From April 10th to 14th, a new telegram of BIT.GAME has already adopted more than 72,000 users. This unexpected episode illustrates why, despite BIT.GAME is in its formative start-up stage, its influence and brand spotlight continue to get better. In the future, BIT.GAME will recruit enthusiastic and loyal users cordially, to be its external-partner and help them to manage existing communities and some propaganda works. BIT.GAME will grow with its mass users and share the dividends of innovation and development jointly.

Now, the heat of domestic market of blockchain does not decrease BIT.GAME’s overseas market continuous promotion. The next strategic planning will be: BIT.GAME shall embrace overseas market, taking a substantial step forward to continuously refine and build upon its foundation.

BIT.GAME will also announce its pre-ICO during LoT, Blockchain & AI Tech Expo in Olympia London on Apr. 19th when CEO Eric Sun gives his speech.

BIT.GAME’s delegation arrived at London on Apr.16th and attended Huobi’s meetup and met quite a number of entrepreneurs who shows interests to their project. Besides, they’ve also attended LoT, Blockchain & AI Tech Expo in Olympia London on Apr. 18th and 19th, where they will attend conference, join interactive panel discussions, and set up its own exhibition stand with No. of 61. Eric Sun, as BIT.GAME’s CEO is also supposed to give a speech on Apr. 19th in the afternoon, where he will announce pre-ICO plans and other future plans.

Regarding the speech, Eric Sun disclosed something. BIT.GAME is the world’s first blockchain game exchange, and it will grow with its customers, game players and traders. “It has PoC, short for Proof of Contribution, which is a mining pool with a double buy-back program for all game players and traders.” Last mysterious words added by Eric Sun.

The most important and pleasant surprised thing is pre-ICO. It will start on April 19th. BIT.GAME has never partnered with third-party agencies for the token sales. Any potential buyer of the token could go through strict KYC procedure. The sale will open to every country and region where similar activities are welcomed. The most generous bonuses are only given to those who purchase tokens initially.

BIT.GAME believes this forum will gather countless entrepreneurs and leaders from the blockchain and video game industry, where they could deeply communicate about subjects related to blockchain technology and its subsequent application within games.

Beyond the forum, on April 20th, BIT.GAME will partner with Matrix to hold a meet-up at crown plaza Kensington. BIT.GAME’s delegation would make an in-depth communication with participators in the meet-up regarding hot topics that game players care about the most and the overturn that blockchain brings for the traditional game industry, the development tendency for blockchain games, as well as rebuilding the credit value of game industry by blockchain.

For More Information:

Official Website: https://bit.game

E-mail: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BitGameEN

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitGameEN

Telegram: https://t.me/BIT_GAME_PROJECT

Reddit:https://www.reddit.com/user/BitGameEN

Youtube:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e8uzXBZgfxA

Github: https://github.com/BitGameEN

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

It is not the first time someone has managed to steal Ethereum. Unfortunately, such incidents have only become more apparent and gotten worse over time. It seems MyEtherWallet has fallen victim to yet another hack, even though the platform itself was apparently not to blame. Instead, the platform’s SSL certificate was “targeted” in an attack.

Another MyEtherWallet Incident Takes Place

Whenever a popular online service is involved with financial transactions of any kind, it will attract unwanted attention from various criminals. In the case of MyEtherWallet, there have been some hiccups along the way. This latest incident, however, is a lot more worrisome than some of the previous incidents. Some of the platform’s servers used an unsigned SSL certificate and redirected visitors to a server in Russia.

Anyone falling victim to this redirection saw their wallet emptied in short order. Several thousands of dollars have been stolen already, although it remains to be seen if that is the final tally. It took all but two hours to shut down this attack, but a lot of money was stolen regardless due to the popularity of the MyEtherWallet service.

At the time of writing, the MyEtherWallet team was conducting an investigation to determine which servers were targeted. Users are always advised to run a local offline copy of MyEtherWallet rather than connect to the online platform. This latter option remains more popular because most cryptocurrency users will always prefer convenience over security. In some cases, they will pay the price for it.

It is important to note this hijack has nothing to do with compromising MyEtherWallet itself. Instead, the attackers intercepted DNS requests for the website. It seems this was a direct result of using Google’s DNS service, combined with a forged communication through Amazon’s system. It seems an upstream ISP was compromised to announce a subset of Route 53 IP addresses to networks peered with this ISP. It was a very elaborate attack, albeit one that was seemingly pulled off with relative ease.

Although such blatant attacks are rather uncommon, they will not necessarily become less popular. This type of attack highlights a massive flaw in a cornerstone of the internet’s infrastructure and has not been properly addressed ever since it first became popular many years ago. It remains unclear if the ongoing investigation will dig up any other affected services. 

Whether or not MyEtherWallet will reimburse users affected by this heist remains to be seen. It is evident the stolen money has to be recovered somehow. Since no one knows who the culprit is or where they are located, the traditional method appears to be out of the question completely. It’s a very troublesome story well worth keeping an eye on, and one that highlights the need for improved internet security in general.

Taking a step forward for the cryptocurrency market in the battle against traditional banking, Chilean crypto trading platform Buda has persuaded a court to force the re-opening of the exchange’s accounts.

Chile’s anti-monopoly court has ordered Itau Corpbanca and Banco del Estado de Chile — the country’s central bank — to re-open Buda’s accounts, according to Bloomberg. This comes following news earlier this month that Chilean lenders would close the accounts of crypto exchanges Buda, OrionX, and CryptoMKT, citing the need for further regulation of cryptocurrencies — a move which Buda called ‘arbitrary’ and ‘unjustified.’

Buda, OrionX, and CryptoMKT

Crypto-trading services at Buda, OrionX, and CryptoMKT in Chile were effectively crippled earlier this month after 10 Chilean banks abruptly cut off banking to the firms. Spokespersons from CryptoMKT reported that their bank informed them they had instructions not to open accounts to anyone holding or dealing with cryptocurrency. OrionX stated they received no explanation from banks after the sudden cessation of services.

Strangely enough, at the time of the cut-off, the Chilean Financial Stability Council, made up of reps from the Chilean Finance Ministry and regulators of the country’s securities, banking, and pension sectors, had issued a statement, saying that the cryptocurrency sector does not threaten the stability of the Chilean economy. Despite the statements from Chilean financial authorities, Buda, a Bitcoin exchange, and CryptoMKT, which deals in Ethereum, both found accounts closed with no warning.

Following the news, in a public statement two of the three exchanges, Buda and CryptoMKT, asked the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (ABIF) to ‘make its position transparent’ and disclose the reasoning behind the decisions to close. In the statement, the exchanges asked not only for clarification from the ABIF and for fair access to the countries banking systems, but also for the public to pay attention to the issue ‘before it’s too late.’

Both exchanges declare they have been open about the advantages and dangers of trading in cryptocurrency, adding that they are registered in the records of the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF), meeting anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorist funding standards.

A lawyer and minority partner at Buda, Fernando Barros, called the banks’ actions anti-competitive:

“These executives forget that the Political Constitution of Chile recognizes the right to undertake and develop any economic activity that is not prohibited… In Chile, it is only the legislator and the regulator who can determine what Chileans cannot develop. When a group of companies does so to its potential competitors without any basis, we are faced with abuse of a dominant position and a clear anti-competitive action.”

Buda, OrionX, and CryptoMKT were also targeted in bans by Itau Unibanco Holdings SA of Brazil and a Chilean Division of Scotiabank Canada. Scotiabank Chile CEO Francisco Sardón said that banks are merely trying to counter money laundering and be in compliance generally:

“There is no persecution of any kind. There is a concern in banking not only about cryptocurrency but also about money laundering and compliance issues in general…We are doing our job.”

Image from Shutterstock.

The post Court Orders Chilean Banks to Re-Open Accounts With Local Cryptocurrency Exchanges appeared first on NewsBTC.

CoinJanitor is a unique project in the blockchain space that aims to clean up the bottom of the cryptocurrency market and unlock the value currently trapped there. It uses a methodology built on economic principles to restore lost value to the markets, benefitting contributors, top-ranked cryptocurrency holders, creators of dead coins and dead coin holders – those coins which have low market caps, low or zero hash rate, and aren’t tradeable.

What is CoinJanitor?

As is the case in the traditional business world, the vast majority of blockchain startups ultimately fail. And so – among the rubble of scam projects and get-rich-quick schemes – there are hundreds of well-intentioned but unsuccessful cryptocurrency projects that now appear futureless. While there are many lessons to be learned from failure, there is also a lot of value trapped in those dormant blockchains. CoinJanitor is a community-driven project that intends to unlock that trapped value so that it can be put towards more active and promising projects in the cryptocurrency space.

For those cryptocurrency investors who are passionate about key tenets of the industry such as censorship resistance and transparency, CoinJanitor represents an exciting new opportunity. It is the first project of its kind whose sole focus is to strengthen the cryptocurrency community at large. That is accomplished primarily by reducing resource dilution in the market, but there is also immeasurable value to be captured in the comprehensive datasets that CoinJanitor can collect while decommissioning various projects.

How it Works

The first tool in the CoinJanitor toolkit is the JAN token. It is an ERC-20 token traded on the Ethereum public blockchain, with a total capped supply of 100 million coins. Holders of failed coins will be able to swap their dead coins out for JAN, which they can then hold or trade on one of the exchanges that lists it. The project’s efforts will be focused on micro-cap coins (below $50k) that have been inactive for 2 years or more, of which there are many.

The CoinJanitor team doesn’t plan to conduct any hostile takeovers or otherwise unwanted services for ‘deadcoin’ projects. Instead, they will contact the creators of target currencies and work with any that are receptive.

Once a plan has been agreed upon for a specific project, CoinJanitor will take over it and communicate their plan for buy outs to the coin holder community. After collecting blockchain data snapshots, they will then initiate token swaps in which coin holders receive JAN tokens in exchange for their untradeable coins, which CoinJanitor will burn. As a result, coin holders who would otherwise be at a complete loss will be able to regain some value or perhaps even turn a profit by holding or trading their JAN tokens.

Crucially, each buyout will add to the amalgamation of cryptocurrency communities into the CoinJanitor community. That will create a powerful network effect that increases demand for JAN tokens, making it increasingly more affordable to buy out other projects in the future. It will be as if each dead project that gets cleaned up will add a new janitor to the CoinJanitor staff, until eventually the project team is capable of cleaning hundreds of dead coin projects and making a truly transformative impact on the entire cryptocurrency market.

JAN ICO Details

The JAN ICO will start on May 1st and end on May 31st or once the $7.5 million hard cap is hit.

50% of the total JAN supply will be sold to the public during the ICO. Of the remaining half, 30% will be held by the project to buy out dead coins, 5% will be reserved for project’s partners, 5% will go towards a bounty program, and the final 10% will be distributed to founders, team members, and future employees. Team members will not be able to sell their JAN tokens until 2019.

Being a janitor is a difficult and often thankless job, but it is necessary work to maintain a healthy ecosystem. The CoinJanitor team and community are ready to fill that need in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and perhaps even turn a profit in the process. To join them in cleaning up the cryptocurrency market, visit the project website, join the community on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, or follow the live discussions held on Telegram.

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

Globatalent who announced their ICO on several news platforms in March, have revealed that due to the processes regarding accredited investors (such as KYC and AML) they will now have to delay the date for their public crowd sale. The processes take time and due to the over demand of the private pre-sale, the blockchain platform have decided to wait until all investors from the pre-sale have passed their checks and then they will be able to clarify if there will be any tokens available for the crowdsale.

Globatalent CEO, Sunil Bhardwaj has revealed “The Globatalent pre-sale has been incredibly successful and there has been an enormous demand. This was beyond our own high expectations and as a result, we want to be sure that everything we do goes through the right processes and accreditations. We have had investors from all over the world, which is exactly what we were hoping for and we want to thank each and every one of them as it is fantastic to see that people from all over the world genuinely believe in our project.”

“We want to apologise in advance if we do not have tokens available for the public crowdsale or as much as we originally wanted but we will endeavor to make sure that we communicate and announce to everyone our plans as soon as we know internally. We appreciate the patience of our network and community and we will set up a waiting list via our website for anybody who wants to apply for a potential public sale. As many people as possible will have the ability to purchase tokens and therefore we encourage everyone to join our waiting list as soon as possible as it will be done on a first come first serve basis.” Sunil added.

Their success in recent months has increased at a rapid pace and since the ICO was announced, they have been able to unveil official supporters which include FC Barcelona striker Luis Suarez, multiple World Chess champion and women’s rights activist Anna Muzychuk, South Korean footballing prospect Seung Woo-Lee and Karate world champion Dani Redondo to name a few on a long list of famous sporting names. A comprehensive list of their official supporters is named on their website.

Globatalent have also revealed recently that they will be sponsoring the Mediterranean Ladies Golf Open and are the official sponsors of five sporting teams from across the globes in different sports after coming to an agreement with the Baskonia-Alaves group.

After attending and speaking at incredibly successful worldwide blockchain events, Globatalent has gained exposure and interest globally and as a result the demand in the private pre-sale has reached beyond their own high expectations. As a result, they have postponed their date for a public crowd sale but commented that there will be another announcement in due course.

For more information, please see www.globatalent.com

Press Contact: Rob Spitz ([email protected])

Globatalent Community Channels:

• Telegram: https://t.me/globatalent

Globatalent Social Media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/globatalent.official/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/globatalent
• Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/company/18286680/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/globatalent/
• Medium: https://medium.com/Globatalent
• Bounty: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2690003
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD9YH3-Stofoh0eXWxwVBnA
• Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/globatalent
• New Explainer Video: https://vimeo.com/256492584
• New Founders interview Video: https://vimeo.com/255880001
• White Paper : https://globatalent.com/whitepaper
• Aidrop (Free Tokens): https://airdrop.globatalent.com/

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

More than 4,500 attendees, a unique format, sold-out ICO pitch stage, over 100 speakers, 70 exhibitors, 30 media and the hottest startups make this the not-to-be-missed event.

Crypto Invest Summit co-founders Alon Goren and Josef Holm discuss why next week’s conference and expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center is stacked to be the largest and best place to meet and learn from the movers and shakers in fintech.

Josef Holm: Let’s start with our all-star lineup of speakers that we individually called to participate. We will have the Who’s Who of the industry, including sports legends, an Academy award-winning producer, billionaire investors, all the major media, not to mention a sold out ICO pitch stage and the largest expo floor, featuring the hottest startups!

We are expecting more than 4,500 attendees, over 100 global crypto and blockchain industry leaders, 30 media and 70 exhibitors (and a few surprises)!

Attendees will have two major opportunities to network—at our pre-party on April 30th at the LA Live Grammy Museum and then again on May 1st on the expo floor.

We’re excited to have over 30 ICOs from around the world pitch to willing and ready investors!

Also, we are thrilled to have the Founder of Digital LA, Kevin Winston as well as Crystal Rose, CEO of Sensay and founder of LA Tech Week join us.

We will have all the leading fintech and blockchain media participating, including CoinTelegraph, HuffPost, The Merkle, Blockchain Radio, Bitcoin.com, Crowdfund Insider, and ICOinvestor.TV, just to name a few. CNBC “Crypto Trader” host Ran Neu-Ner will broadcast live on the main stage.

Alon Goren: Attendees will be able to hear our speakers in presentations, fireside chats and panel discussion formats that will break up the monotony of listening to one speaker after another, which is what you tend to find at the usual conferences.

We have some insightful fireside chats, including one with Olga Feldmeier (Smart Valor), Vinny Lingham (Civic, Shark Tank) and Bill Barhydt (Abra) on “How Blockchain Technology Will Transform Society.”  

From the world of sports, we will have chats with Apolo Ohno, eight-time Olympic Medalist and co-founder of HybridBlock and Jesse Tevelow, managing partner, BlockTeam Ventures.

Dirk Meyer (Egretia) will lead a panel discussion on “Tokens and Blockchain in Gaming” with leaders from Game Protocol, RobotCache, Call of Duty, and WAX.

A panel on Disruptive Blockchain & Distributed Ledger Innovations panel will feature Randall Crowder (Phunware), Wilson Wei (Lino Network), David Bleznak (Totle), David Moss (EOS), and Alex Wearn Aurora (IDEX).

To address why there aren’t more women in blockchain, we will have a panel featuring women who are leading the path, including Sarah Clayton, Ph.D. Fellow; Veronica Reynolds, Blockchain Research; Tavonia Evans, $Guap Coin; Koh Kim, Crypto Advisor; Sara Borazan, North Capital, and Jenny Ta, VCNetwork.co.

And, because blockchain and cryptocurrency is not all about making money, we will discuss social implications and uses with Graham Goddard, All Public Art; Ryan Scott, ICO Impact Group; Mark Jeffrey, Guardian Circle; Mac McGary, Sweetbridge; Louis O Connor, Agrorismo and Devin Thorpe, Forbes contributor and author.

Finally, we want to thank our title sponsor, Hedera Hashgraph, as well as our other gold, silver and bronze sponsors.

We’ve partnered with Crypto Invest Summit to make this event the most memorable one yet, and awarding our community with 30% discounts on all general admission tickets when using __ENTER PROMO CODE__ at checkout. Tickets are still available. For more info and to register, please visit: Crypto Invest Summit

The Crypto Invest Summit is the biggest investment conference and expo for ICOs, blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies on the West Coast. The Summit will feature more than 100 speakers, educational panels, fireside chats, ICO pitch stages and 70 technology companies at the largest crypto expo floor in the U.S. With 4,000+ attendees, including entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, family offices and broker-dealers, the two-day Summit is the must-attend event to learn, network and meet with the who’s who of the blockchain community.

This is a sponsored press release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. This is not investment, trading, or gambling advice. Always conduct your own independent research.

Most alt coins under our radar are recovering. IOTA for example is finding support at $1.7 while Litecoin buyers are loading up at around our previous support line. From our previous altcoins analysis, it’s a straight buys on dips for Litecoin, Stellar Lumens and IOTA with targets in line with our initial price projections.

Let’s have a look at these charts:

XLM/USD (Stellar Lumens)

The crypto sphere pendulum continues and by now, we can conclude that there is a slight and positive correlation between the oscillation of the stock market and the declines in cryptos. As it is, Stellar Lumens is set to benefit whenever there are negative movements in the later.

Basing our overview on analysts’ opinions, Stellar Lumens value will sky rocket if in any case central banks begin issuing their own sovereign backed digital currencies through Stellar Lumens blockchain. Otherwise, Stellar is still slow and a top performer with a five percent gain in the last 24 hours.

Price wise, I will hold my buy triggers and wait until prices shoot past 40 cents as per our previous analysis. After all we are now seeing pockets of buy pressure in an otherwise bullish run.

IOT/USD (IOTA)

There is good news brewing and even though it will likely be in 5, 10 or 20 years, news that NASDAQ is lining itself to be a cryptocurrency exchange is positive. It’s mainly positive for IOTA that we have these hosts of tech companies backing it. This is besides the inherent design of IOTA as a facilitator of IoT with several tech applications is a positive. Finally, assuming we have tighter but supportive regulations, more institutions will join in the fray and help pump IOTA prices.

All in all, prices are turning from the upper edge of our buy zone. Right, we didn’t have perfect buy reversal formations but since we are in a bullish market, odds of making money if you buy remains elevated. In the 4HR chart, we have these higher highs relative to the lower BB and a buy signal. I recommend buys with stops just below $1.7. Everything else remains as per our initial projections.

EOS/USD (EOS)

Things are beginning to take shape and with EOSIO prepping itself to be a to-go DApp platform, many companies are taking notice. Already PLACTAL, a DApp that plans to launch on EOS is seeking the services of Coinsilium Group. This consultancy firm often finances and manages blockchain start ups. When EOSIO launches, PLACTAL shall use the expertise of Coinsilium during token generation event (TGE).

$COIN Coinsilium Group to advise @plactal_io blockchain-based mobile game advertising https://t.co/60JcsGYqSc via @proactive_uk @CoinsiliumGroup #COIN #AndrewScottTV

— coinsilium (@CoinsiliumGroup) April 24, 2018

After 24 hours, EOS is still oscillating within a $2 range. Overly, I’m net bullish and if we borrow hints from our previous EOS price forecasts, any break above $16 means we trade with the trend. If not, we should wait for better buy signals in the 4HR chart and consequently buy on dips anywhere between $9.50 and $11.50.

LTC/USD (Litecoin)

Regulation, regulation and yes, more regulation is what cryptocurrencies need. It’s amazing how talks of anonymity is quickly fading.  As I type this, Litecoin and Token Pay are now working closely and “exploring a banking solution” in Germany.

This move is specifically geared towards educating governments and to foster relationship with regulators once Token Pay acquires a bank in Munich. The deal is still at formative stages but we get the drift and where the objective of this deal.

Our bank deal in Germany as outlined in the #TokenPay Ecosystem Report has now been signed, several weeks ahead of schedule. We expect closing to occur by the end of next week and an official announcement to follow. $TPAY and $XVG debit cards coming soon https://t.co/YvKQFEVwV4

— TokenPay (@tokenpay) April 26, 2018

All in all, Litecoin is up four percent and looks to be bottoming up around our ideal support at $140. From the chart, we have this stochastic buy signal complete with higher highs relative to the lower BB. This is after periods of brief accumulation in the last 3 or 4 days. I recommend buying Litecoin with stops below $140 with targets at $180 as per our previous Litecoin technical analysis.

NEO/USD (NEO)

Nothing much has happened in the last 24 hours and NEO bulls are adding to their positions. Since we now have a stochastic buy signal, we can wait for a bullish confirmation before buying. Because of this, I recommend buys at $75 with stops at April 26 lows of $68. Our take profit targets should be at $90 and $110 if bullish momentum continues.

 

The post NEO, EOS, Litecoin, IOTA and Stellar: Technical Analysis April 27, 2018 appeared first on NewsBTC.

It has been at least a full week since we last heard a highly controversial statement regarding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. According to PayPal Founding CEO and Former Intuit CEO Bill Harris, Bitcoin is the greatest scam ever.  A statement like that from an individual who sees his business models threatened by cryptocurrency is not necessarily surprising. Even so, it has the cryptocurrency community up in arms yet again.

Bill Harris Makes a Ridiculous Statement

It is neither the first nor the last time someone will call Bitcoin a scam. In virtually all of these cases, the statement is a direct result of either a lack of understanding of the technology or simply a bias against cryptocurrencies. It is unclear which side of the spectrum Bill Harris falls on, but his comment about Bitcoin being “the greatest scam in history” is not something people will appreciate. Even people who do not own any Bitcoin are not too amused by such statements.

To put this into perspective, Harris has been quite vocal about his dislike for Bitcoin. He has gone from warning people about it to claiming Bitcoin is a bubble and is now using the “scam” card. In his opinion, Bitcoin is nothing but a great pump-and-dump scheme which will eventually collapse when people least expect it. That is not a unique statement, as some financial experts have uttered similar baseless comments in the past.

Harris does raise one valid point. He mentions that some cryptocurrencies are pure frauds. In recent years, we have seen numerous projects disappear into thin air after their developers made a lot of money. BitConnect is the most recent example in this regard, but the concept is a lot older than most people think. Unlike what Harris believes, however, Bitcoin is a legitimate cryptocurrency, albeit one which is subject to manipulation and speculation.

Furthermore, Harris is completely convinced Bitcoin has no value at all, and that “promoters” of this cryptocurrency trick people into believing Bitcoin is a means of payment, a store of value, and so forth. He genuinely believes Bitcoin cannot be used for any of these things, thereby disregarding all of the merchants who accept and receive Bitcoin payments on a regular basis. If Bitcoin had no value, no one would accept it for payments. In the real world, however, the number of merchants accepting Bitcoin payments has been growing steadily for some time now.

It was only to be expected that Harris would simply parrot the words of financial experts who oppose Bitcoin. He does so by referring to Bitcoin as “only a tool for criminal activity“. It seems Harris has read a few media headlines, but his lack of understanding the role of Bitcoin in such schemes – and the borderline negligible impact it has on overall crime – seem to be beyond his comprehension. There is always more than one biased side to every story.

In the end, comments like these are to be expected as Bitcoin becomes more popular. People will oppose that which they do not understand or wish to succeed. Bill Harris is entitled to his own opinion, but very few people will take his “advice” as there is no point in doing so. Bitcoin is here to stay, regardless of what some people want to happen.

IBM partners with diamond industry leaders to create a blockchain-based network to bring full transparency and ensure the provenance of finished pieces of jewelry. #NEWS

Germany’s VPE Wertpapierhandelsbank AG (VPE) has announced its institutional investor cryptocurrency trading services and claims them to be the first of their kind for the country. Armed with a Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (Bafin) license, in expanding its brokerage offerings VPE purports to offer “best-in-class technology” to customers, “secure and regulated.”

Also read: Facebook to Be Sued for Defamation Related to Scammy Crypto Ads

VPE Launches Germany’s First Institutional Investor Cryptocurrency Trading Services

VPE Wertpapierhandelsbank AG spokesperson Katharina Strenski stressed, “Until now, institutional investors have faced high entry barriers to crypto trading. Our cryptocurrency trading services offer a much more convenient alternative.”

The world over, institutional investors, or whales, usually control vast sums of capital. They’ve been looking for ways to leverage cryptocurrency markets, but often run up against their own lobbying efforts in wielding government regulatory power to insulate themselves from competition. The consequences thus far include uneven access to a red hot and emerging asset class, arguably the future of finance in one form or another, cryptocurrency.

“Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and others have become a promising asset class in recent years,” Ms. Strenski detailed. “To date, trading digital tokens has been restricted to crypto exchanges and online marketplaces. We are pleased to be the first German bank to offer our customers cryptocurrency trading services.”

VPE is a German centric exchange-based OTC trader. Financial corporations, private investors, and institutional investors (whales) get brokerage services, investment advice, and portfolio management. Under that umbrella, the bank offers clearing services, settlement of transactions in securities, contracts for difference, options, and futures.

Germany Is an Economic Powerhouse

Germany is an economic powerhouse, and so any entry its companies make into the crypto space will undoubtedly move the needle. It ranks as Europe’s economic engine and its largest economy, is a constant innovator, and is a giant exporter of goods. Routinely the country can boast Europe’s lowest employment rate, and its citizens average over $50K per capita.

All this could point to a boost for the digital asset sector as German institutional investors are among the most profitable companies in the world. For its part, as a “securities trading bank,” the bank’s press release continues, “VPE has an impressive trading track record and has access to the appropriate networks and technical requirements for processing individual transactions. VPE also meets all necessary KYC (Know your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money-Laundering) requirements.”

VPE also offers automated crypto trades, “developed in partnership with Solarisbank, the first banking platform with a full banking license, and with support from leading banking and legal crypto experts. VPE’s virtual currency trading account is held in escrow by Solarisbank. Customers will also receive access to an individual virtual currency wallet hosted by VPE. This will make trading fast and simple while ensuring the highest security standards,” the company insists.

Do you think German institutional investors will be a boost for crypto markets? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Images courtesy of Shutterstock, VPE.

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A company has mixed different features of collectible breeding games aiming to create “the cutest crypto game” yet. #SPONSORED

A lot of cryptocurrency enthusiasts rely on centralized exchanges to buy and sell Bitcoin or altcoins. In Canada, there are a fair few trading platforms to use, although they are all seemingly rather expensive. An interesting comparison put together by a Reddit user shows how Canadians are rather shafted when it comes to buying and selling cryptocurrency. Something will need to change in this regard to make cryptocurrencies more appealing in that country.

Canada’s Exchanges Remain Expensive

Although some people may not realize it, a fair few cryptocurrency exchanges serve clients in Canada. This list does not just include Canadian companies, but also platforms like LocalBitcoins and Coinbase. One thing they all have in common, however, is the rather high fees users are forced to pay when buying or selling cryptocurrencies.

In fact, it is seemingly impossible to buy Bitcoin in Canada without paying at least 2.3% in fees. That is not necessarily the highest fee in history, but when buying $500 worth of Bitcoin, $11.50 will be spent on fees. It makes for a somewhat unappealing experience, even though the popularity of cryptocurrencies has not waned in the slightest despite the rising cost of acquiring them.

On the other side of the spectrum, Canadian exchange fees can run as high as 11.6%. That is an absurd amount to pay when buying or selling Bitcoin through a third-party provider. It is even more expensive than using a Bitcoin ATM, even though that particular option is usually considered to be the most expensive method of buying or selling Bitcoin. These figures show that is not necessarily the case, at least where Canada is concerned.

As one would expect, LocalBitcoins sits right in the middle in terms of fees. It is the seventh cheapest option on the list, even though it may still be the most convenient solution for a lot of enthusiasts. CEX.io has the highest fees of them all, according to the Reddit post. That’s the case when using a Visa card to buy or sell Bitcoin, as a bank transfer is almost 3% cheaper.

All of this goes to show there is a growing need for either more exchanges or an ongoing price war between platforms. Since these fees heavily depend on which payment method is being used, it is safe to say credit and debit cards need to be avoided at all cost. It is also important to note this list includes platforms which only allow users to either buy or sell, rather than do both. Some more competition in this market would certainly be a good thing when taking all of this information into account.

Nevertheless, Canada is still a very popular country when it comes to cryptocurrency. That’s not just in terms of buying and selling, but also when it comes to mining Bitcoin. It will be pretty interesting to see how the country positions itself in the cryptocurrency ecosystem moving forward. There is plenty of room to make a positive impact, but these high fees will remain a pressing problem for quite some time to come.

The government of Taiwan, following moves made by neighbors like Japan and South Korea, will roll out new cryptocurrency regulations later this year.

Speaking at a conference dedicated to anti-money laundering (AML) on Friday April 20th, Chiu Tai-san, Taiwan’s Minister of Justice, said that the country will develop and implement a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies by November, according to the Asia Times. The primary goal of the coming regulations will be to prevent cryptocurrencies from becoming instruments for money laundering.

The announcement was made at a financial industry money laundering conference held this week by the Taiwan Financial Services Coalition (FSC). Chiu Tai-san said the relevant control mechanisms and laws to govern and regulate cryptocurrencies will be set by the FSC, with the consultation of the Ministry of Interior, the country’s central bank, and its Investigation Bureau. Earlier this month, in attempts to become better informed, the government’s legal departments asked two cryptocurrency exchanges to help inform them about operations within the space.

FSC chairman Wellington Koo said that the current problem with cryptocurrencies is the lack of clarity surrounding ‘who has purchased it [cryptocurrencies] and who it is sold to.’ That said, late last year Koo told parliament that the country would not be following in China’s footsteps and outright banning cryptocurrencies.

As such, there are still concerns regarding the cryptocurrency market and its use for money laundering activities due to its unregulated nature, and moving forward the country hopes regulation can help prevent this threat from increasing.

As part of the AML program, the FSC has asked banks to list crypto-trading platforms’ accounts as ‘high-risk accounts.’ This will mean that if transactions through these marked accounts go above a certain threshold, banks must notify the regulator who will then take a closer look with aims to root out any potential money laundering opportunities.

Cryptocurrencies: Asia

Nations in Asia are seemingly either embracing cryptocurrencies or taking a hard line approach against them. Taiwan is still relatively neutral, whereas Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore remain hubs for the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries. On the other side are countries like China, as well as India and Thailand, which have seen trading bans and exchange and ICO crackdowns.

What’s worth considering is that when traders and companies left China because of the country’s heavy-handed approach to digital currencies, it’s likely some of them migrated to Taiwan. It is also likely that Taiwan is holding Chinese crypto funds, as investors seek ways to evade crackdowns on the mainland. In Beijing’s latest move against the cryptosphere, peer-to-peer trading is now being meddled with by authorities in the country.

Image from Shutterstock.

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